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Five Important Lessons
Lesson Number One
During my second month of nursing school, our
professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious
student and had breezed through the questions,until I
read the last one: "What is the first name of the
woman who cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the
cleaning woman several times. She was tall,
dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her
name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last
question blank.
Just before class ended, one student asked if the last
question would count toward our quiz grade.
"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers,
you will meet many people. All are significant. They
deserve your attention and care, even if all you do
is smile and say 'hello'."
"I've never forgotten that lesson.
I also learned her
name was Dorothy.
Lesson Number Two
One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American
woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway
trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had
broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking
wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young
white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in
those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to
safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a
taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote
down his address and thanked him.
Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door.
To his surprise, a giant console color TV was
delivered to his home. A special note was attached.
It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the
highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my
clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along.
Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying
husband's bedside just before he passed away. God
bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving
others."
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.
Lesson Number Three
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a
10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at
a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of
him.
"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.
"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and
studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain
dish of ice cream?" he inquired.
By now more people were waiting for a table and the
waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents,"
she brusquely replied."
The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have
the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought
the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked
away.
The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and
left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as
she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside
the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies -
You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had
to have enough left to leave her a tip.
Lesson Number Four
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed
on a
roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if
anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's
wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply
walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not
keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about
getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came
along carrying a load of vegetables.
Upon approaching
the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden
and
tried to move the stone to the side of the road.
After much pushing and straining, he finally
succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of
vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road
where the boulder had been. The purse contained many
gold coins and a note from the king indicating that
the gold
was for the person who removed the boulder
from the roadway.
The peasant learned what many of us
never
understand.
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our
condition.
Lesson Number Five
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a
hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who
was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her
only
chance of recovery appeared to be a blood
transfusion
from her 5-year old brother, who had
miraculously survived the same disease and had
developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.
The doctor explained the situation to her little
brother, and asked the little boy if he would be
willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him
hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath
and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her."
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to
his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the
color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew
pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor
and asked with a trembling voice,
"Will I start to
die right away?"
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood
the
doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his
sister all of his blood in order to save her.
You see,
after all, understanding and attitude, are everything.
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